VidsVision

This guest post was written for AIMB by Jamilla Camel. Jamilla is a globe trotting consultant and a makeup junkie. Having spent a significant amount of time in India she has tested out plenty of Indian makeup brands and kindly agreed to share her thoughts on beating the heat and humidity in India with Indian made products. If you live in India or are planning a trip to this beautiful country, you will find this post very very useful.

Having spent 3 out of the last 12 months in South India, I have had the opportunity to try out a LOT of makeup in high heat, high humidity conditions. Not surprisingly, Lakme, an Indian brand manufactured by Hindustan Unilver, came out top. Most foundations, and even lipsticks, just disintegrate in 100 F and 90% humidity conditions, but I’ve found some tricks to help beat the heat.

FOUNDATIONS

I have managed to test four Lakme foundations during my trips to India.

All of the four foundations came in the same shade, Natural Marble. Lakme foundations are on the sheer side, to accommodate a wide spectrum of complexions with only four shades. Natural Marble is for “fair to wheatish” complexions. I am an NC20 and this works for me; I suspect it would work up to an NC25.

The first foundation, Silk Naturelle, comes in a tube and has a high powder content. This is absolutely my favorite foundation to wear in South India. The powder content ensures that the foundation resists moisture, even without powder.

The second foundation, Daily Wear Souffle, is a very light and sheer foundation with a whipped gel texture. It doesn’t have the powder content of Silk Naturelle, but is great for an evening look. It looks very orange in the container, but trust me: it’s very sheer and doesn’t look odd at all on light Asian skin.

Perfecting Liquid Foundation is Lakme’s oldest, and most basic foundation. It’s very inexpensive (I think it was less than £1 in Bangalore!) but is a great everday foundation that will work for combination skin. It’s not oily at all, and has buildable coverage.

Nine to Five Flawless Makeup probably has the best coverage of the four, and again, has a high powder content. If you want breathability and a bit more coverage than the Silk Naturelle, then this is the one to go for. It is long lasting and resists both high humidity and the drying effects of office air conditioning.

LIPSTICKS

I don’t know if it’s a well-know fact, but lip glosses and other sheer lipsticks have a tendency to disappear rapidly in hot, humid conditions. I solve the problem by going for a creamy matte lipstick formulation. I have purchased four Lakme Enrich Matte Lipsticks, from Summer 2009 Bridal Sutra Collection and love them all. They seem to be a bit similar when swatched, but do look distinctive on the lips. I also purchased an Aquashine Lipcolor in Coral, which is more of a liquid lipstick than a gloss, and therefore has much better staying power if you like a glossy finish.

EYE SHADOWS

I go for a cream-to-powder formulation in eye shadows. Forget sheer, glossy, or very powdery formulations, because they will all disappear within a few hours of application. My go-to eye shadows are Lakme Nine to Five Satin Glide Eyeshadows. These shadows come in a tube with a twist-top foam applicator. They go on creamy and dry to a powder finish. They have the most staying power of any eye shadows I’ve tried during my trips to south India. Lakme also makes a very good Eye Liner—I’ve shown No. 6, Purple, above. It resists smudging and meltdown all day.

CONCLUSIONS

I did not find the Lakme Blushers or Eye Palettes to have exceptional longevity in demanding weather conditions. However, the Matte Lipsticks, Eye shadows and Foundations are outstanding for anything that India has to throw at you weather-wise, be it scorching desert heat or monsoon season!